Review : LEGO IDEAS 21359 Italian Riviera

Today we are taking a quick look at the contents of the LEGO IDEAS set. 21359 Italian Riviera, a large box of 3215 pieces will be available as an Insiders preview from August 7, 2025 at the public price of €279,99.

As you probably already know if you follow, this product is freely inspired by the proposal The Italian Riviera submitted in its time on the LEGO IDEAS platform by Alex Sahli alias Galaxy333 and which had been definitively validated by the manufacturer in August 2024.

We could spend a long time comparing the reference proposal and the official version of the idea in question. And one could quickly conclude that a large part of what made this good idea so interesting has been lost, with an extreme simplification of the construction and, in the process, an obvious loss of the picturesque atmosphere of the place.

But it was just an idea, it's the heart of the concept of the aptly named LEGO IDEAS range, and LEGO has made it a necessarily somewhat watered-down product that may disappoint those who supported the initial version for its unique atmosphere.

So we end up with a Structure based on village houses with somewhat smooth walls, shutters that are a little too symbolic with an overdose of ingots and roofs that are losing their alignment of round tiles, probably too fragile to become simple, more solid roofs with visible tenons.

However, it's difficult to really point out what makes the typical spirit of the village of Manarola (Cinque Terre) which inspired the original creation disappear a little, but in my opinion, all of this is seriously lacking in texture with a rendering that is far too smooth and modern to convince me.

The colors used could also make this diorama a Mexican village or a movie set installed in an amusement park, the construction becomes almost too versatile and in my opinion frankly loses its initial charm.

The fact remains that the official proposal is sufficiently accomplished to offer both a very entertaining construction challenge and a nice exhibition product. Like a Structure classic, here we alternate between walls and furniture, we assemble modules which fit perfectly on top of each other and we obtain a whole whose interior we can easily explore without dismantling everything.

The various interior spaces are filled to the brim with various and varied accessories, the furniture is generally of good quality, the floors are partially but sufficiently dressed and a large handful of stickers adds the finishing touch and the construction has nothing to envy of the most opulent of Modulars on this ground there.

As usual, don't spoil too much for yourself the construction techniques at work here, especially to obtain the asymmetrical side of the base on which the houses are installed. You will also pay for that, so you might as well keep the pleasure of discovering everything this product has to offer both technically and aesthetically with the implementation of the various interior fittings. Take my word for it, every space is used to its full potential and the coherence of the interiors is respected, for example with stairs that actually lead upstairs.

All the codes of the Structure as LEGO has installed it over the years are therefore indeed present, it will be up to those who want to add this coastal village to their diorama to find how to properly integrate the thing into their city.

This difficulty of integration will undoubtedly put off some fans who were more into a city diorama and who had not planned to add a coastal section, even though this new product has 360° potential with a reasonable footprint of 34 x 31 cm.

The minifigure offerings here are quite substantial, which is good news: there's no risk of ending up with empty alleys, deserted apartments, or abandoned shops. There are 10 miniatures that fit the theme, including locals, tourists, and a host of merchants and other local artisans.

Does all this really merit a retail price of €280? Nothing could be further from the truth, although I'm tempted to say that buyers will get their money's worth with a very entertaining build process and a result that's large enough to give the impression of having invested in a luxurious diorama.

Once again, there is no point in focusing on the price per piece, which is only a deception here due to the presence of numerous small elements, and it is not the allocation, certainly reasonable, of standard minifigs that will save the day.

As you will have understood, I remain personally very mixed about adapting the initial idea into an official product and I find it hard not to see all these ingots lined up on the facades of the different village houses.

More than a good idea revealing the ingenuity of the designers, I see it above all as the symbol of a lazy simplification which does not pay homage to the creation of the fan designer but it is very personal.

For the rest, it is in the spirit of the Modulars usual, the ease of integration into the existing ecosystem in less and therefore the questioning of the real interest of the thing in exchange for 280 € more.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at August 8, 2025 at 23:59 pm. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid "I'm participating" or "I'm trying my luck", we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.